How to get 🌟 5 STAR 🌟 Reviews
Here are my top tips to help you get 🌟 5 STAR REVIEWS 🌟
1. 🤝 Be human!
Try your best to come off as a real, humble, small-time host. People like people. They don’t like companies / corporations. If you sound too cold and professional, or if you hide your profile behind the name of your LLC or have a logo instead of a nice personable headshot, they might feel more entitled and they might demand more from you or be less forgiving when situations don’t work out exactly as they may have expected. Things happen, and I personally have found that it’s best to just be yourself, speak casually, truthfully and transparently. Guests will likely connect with you better that way, and feel more inclined to help you out with a positive review.
2. 📬 Set up scheduled messages.
Having automatic pre-set scheduled messages will make it SO easy to remind your guests what their door code is, when they need to check out, where to leave the dishes etc. It will take so much busy work off your hands and will keep your guests happy and well-informed. Guests tend to really appreciate this. You can even schedule a message after they leave, reminding them to please leave you a 5-star review if they enjoyed their stay. Click here to read a blog post I wrote about how to set them up, and what you can consider including.
3. 👍 Set realistic expectations.
If there is anything that is less-than-perfect in your rental, don’t hide it! Be as communicative as you can be about ANY potential friction points the guests might experience UPFRONT before they arrive to the unit. If they have been informed, then if they decide to move forward with the reservation, they will be much less likely to complain about it on a review because they agreed to still go even though they knew about that issue beforehand.
4. 🧼 Train your cleaners.
Be sure to ask your cleaners to always inform you of anything that is broken, stained, or needs any kind of maintenance so you can repair or replace it as soon as possible to keep your place in tip top shape. Click here to read a blog post I wrote about this topic and how to find cleaners.
5. 🎁 Welcome gifts.
Consider adding a small “special touch” for your first 3-5 guests to really help motivate a 5 star rating (some people get a bottle of wine from Trader Joe’s if they’re sure all their guests are over 21, others get granola bars, candy, local coffee, or just a handwritten welcome note)
6. 🛒 Keep your property well-equipped!
Use Amazon “Subscribe and Save” to get automatic deliveries every few months so you can refill your cleaners closet with extra toilet paper, paper towels, shampoo, soaps, and other essentials. Click here to see the complete shopping list of products and tools I recommend to hosts who are starting out (it includes 119 items with direct links to be able to buy everything you need easily in one go).
7. ⏱️ Take QUICK action when things go wrong.
It’s important to show quick efforts to solving problems if anything happens to go wrong during a guest’s stay. The faster you are, the less time they will have to brew anger about it. For example, if there was a sudden plumbing issue, you could quickly respond to your guest’s message asking for more details about what is going on, and then ask them if it’s alright to schedule a plumber to come by. Then, inform your guests about the plumber’s availability, so they know when to expect a stranger to arrive in the house. Depending on the gravity of the situation, you could offer to send some money back to your guests to make up for the inconvenience. The Airbnb Resolution Center is there to help you resolve these kinds of issues with ease… so use it! It’s the simplest way to immediately send or request money from your guests. The same concept can be applied to essential any issue that arises. Sometimes, instead of calling a specialist and/or offering a refund, the quickest solution is to order a replacement item to be delivered. Delivery systems these days are so fast! Sometimes new items can be delivered within two hours –which totally blows my mind. Keep that in mind if your guests are missing a towel, or if the hair dryer breaks, or if your guests asks to use an iron or a steamer and you haven’t added one to your property yet, or if the soap runs out, whatever it may be. Resolving problems quickly, or offering a quick partial refund before the guest asks for one, will help you earn that 5 star review, even if the guest experienced issues during their stay. If the guests break or damage an item in your house, then that’s another story, but that’s something we can discuss another time.
8. 😎 Add stand-out amenities!
If you have the ability to add a special novel item to your rental property, use it to your advantage! People like novelty. Novelty items can make their stay a lot more memorable. Consider adding a hammock chair, or an extra large yard game, etc. If you’d like to see specific product suggestions for these kinds of items, check out this curated list.
